Fishing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Fishing apparatus having a tubular disc-shaped member mounted on a handle and a rotatable open face spool for fishing line, drag for the spool being mechanically adjustable. Line feed and drag is further controllable by manipulation of the handle relative to the line direction.

United States Patent [191 Law et a1.

[ Jan. 8, 1974 1 FISHING APPARATUS [76] Inventors: Richard D. Law, 10867W. 30th Ave., Lakewood, Colo. 80215; Robert E. Eckels, 2101 YoungfieldSt., Golden, Colo. 80401 [22] Filed: July 22, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:165,231

[52] U.S. CI 242/96, 43/21, 242/841 A, 242/842 J [51] Int. Cl A89k 89/00[58] Field of Search 242/852 .1, 96, 84.1 A, 242/841 R, 84.2 R, 84.2 H,84.2 F, 85.1; 43/21 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2896,875 7/1959 Reed et a1 242/841 A 2,706,096 4/1955 Rufie 242/84.2 J3,174,703 3/1965 Falkum 242/842 .1 X 2,615,649 10/1952 Flewelling242/842 J 2,896,354 7/1959 Reed et al..... 242/843 X 2,749,058 6/1956Hill 242/842 H 2,855,717 lO/1958 Heil r 242/96 X 2,586,170 2/1952Lawrenz 242/96 X PrimaryExaminer-Billy S. Taylor ABSTRACT Fishingapparatus having a tubular disc-shaped member mounted on a handle and arotatable open face spool for fishing line, drag for the spool beingmechanically adjustable. Line feed and drag is further controllable bymanipulation of the handle relative to the line direction.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures mam-ml 8M4 I 3784.125

INVENTORS RICHARD D. LAW ROBERT E. ECKLES FISHING APPARATUS The presentinvention relates to simplified apparatus for fishing. In general, theinvention provides a short handle member having an open face, fishingline spool mounted thereon. A user of the apparatus of the inventionholds the device in one hand with an end portion of the fishing linehaving a lure dangling from the spool. The lure may be tossed in anunderarm throw or in the manner of a sling shot, e.g. twirling the lureover ones head then releasing it. Outward travel of the line and luremay be controlled by manipulation of the handle or by finger pressure onthe line which peels off the reel. While a conventional casting outfitincludes a long rod and a complex reel, the present invention eliminatesthe rod and provides a simplified, complete fishing unit which fits in ahand. With practice, the apparatus of the invention may be utilized tocast with surprising distance and accuracy, and may be utilized to playand reel in a fish with ease and control.

It is, accordingly, an object and advantage of the present invention toprovide simplified apparatus for fishing.

Another object and advantage of the present inven tion is to provideconveniently carried and durable fishing apparatus for casting andreeling.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a small completefishing apparatus which may be carried in a pocket and is quickly andeasily rigged for fishing.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention may bereadily ascertained by referring to the following description andappended illustrations in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a detail, partially schematic, ofa further embodiment of theinvention.

Considering FIGS. 1 and 2, tubular, hollow handle member 1 hasdisc-shaped member 2 mounted at one end thereof which supportsrotatingspool 3 on shaft 4. The spool is secured by nut assembly 5 onshaft 4. The handle may be centrally located on the disc or it may beslightly off-set toward the top for ease of placing a finger or thumb inslot 7 in the disc. Spool 3 may be a conventional fishing line spoolhaving a hub and two radial flanges, commercially available, andtypically utilized for monofilament line. The spool should have itsinside flange recessed in the disc-shaped member. Although handle 1 mayhave numerous configurations, such as a finger grip shape, theillustrated embodiment with a roughened grip is particularlysatisfactory. As shown, handle 1 is a hollow plastic tube withselectively removable end cap 6 so that lures, hooks, etc., may bestored in the handle. The surface of the handle may be roughened, haveridges, and so on, to make gripping easier particularly with wet hands.

Disc member 2, which may, also, be plastic, may be integral, heatsealed, cemented, or otherwise fixed at an angle to the axis ofhandle 1. The angle is preferably about 70, but may be in the range of30 90. Along the periphery of disc 2 is formed slot 7 radially extendinginwardly to about the rim of spool 3. Preferably, slot 7 is formed indisc 2 at about the apex of the outside angle of handle 1 with disc 2(FIG. 1). Assuming a right hand to be gripping handle 1, the right thumbor forefinger will easily rest upon spool 3. A flange 8 at peripheralslot 7 directed towards handle 1 may be provided to further effect acomfortable thumb or finger rest, as well as to assist guiding the lineto the spool in retrieving and winding. For a left handed configuration,this flange 8 will be located on the opposite side of the slot.

Spool 3 is rotatably mounted to disc member 2. One manner in which toeffect such a mounting is to concentrically fix threaded shaft 4 to disc2 and secure spool 3 thereon with threaded nuts 5. Nuts 5 may includereversed wing nut 9 and lock nut 10 in a double nut arrangement toassure that spool 3 will not, by friction, be loosened. The torque withwhich nuts 5 are pulled down on spool 3 will determine the drag on theoutgoing line when playing a fish. The reversed wing nut 9 prevents theline from wrapping around the nut assembly in the event of a slip whenreeling-in. A wide variety of other arrangements may be utilized tosecure spool 3 rotatably on disc 2, including spring washers and wingnuts, which will provide drag on spool 3. A typical fishing reelarrangement may be made, where one direction rotation (pulling the lineout) is on drag while in the opposite direction no rotation ispermitted.

Flange 11 with aperture 12 therethrough may be provided on the base ofhandle 1. A strap, chain or the like may be inserted through aperture 12so that the apparatus may be selectively attached to other objects. Theapparatus, thereby, might be suspended from a belt, attached to a boatseat cushion, etc.

With the embodiment of FIG. 1, reeling is accomplished by hand, butreeling may be made semiautomatic or automatic as shown in FIG. 3, as byan electric motor or a spring wound motor. Motor 31 is mounted in handlela and is actuated by button 32 to electric power supply batteries 33aand 33b, also in handle la. Handle 1a may be a plastic hollow tubularhandle generally similar to handle 1 of FIG. 1. Miniatu're,direct-current electric motors are well known and commerciallyavailable; it is suggested that motor 31 be a relatively slow speed,high torque motor. Insulated wire lead 34 to actuation button 32, springcontact 35 to battery 33a, and button 32 are conventional methods ofelectrical connection, and other connection arrangements may be used.Likewise, batteries 33a and 33b are well known commercially availabledry cell batteries connected in parallel. The spring wound motor, ofcourse, takes the place of the electric motor and winding means extendedto the end of the handle.

Spring 36, maintained in position by handle end cap 6a, may be utilizedto exert mechanical pressures on the batteries 33a and 33b to maintainelectrical contact. Gear 37 mounted on a shaft from motor 31 engaginggear 38 on shaft 4a keyed to spool 3 may be utilized to revolve spool 3.It is suggested that gears 37 and 38 be self-lubricating, non-rustinggears. The configuration of the gears and the manner of effectingmechanical power transmission from motor 31 to spool 3 depends upon thecharacteristics of motor 31. Shaft 4a may be keyed, a square shaft, orotherwise arranged to rotate reel 3 therewith. Nut means 5a may be oneof a variety of fasteners arranged on shaft 4a to maintain spool 3 onshaft 4a and to cause drag between spool 3 and disc 2. Also, thebatteries may be carried separately and connected by leads to the switchfor the motor.

One manner of operation of the apparatus is to hold handle 1 in the lefthand with the thumb on that hand resting through slot 7 onto fishingfine on spool 3. About a foot or so of line and lure is held in theright hand and, with a whip-like underarm motion, the line and lure maycast out into a lake or stream. The longitudinal axis of the handle 1should, at the time of casting, be generally aligned with the directionof cast. The distance of the cast may be controlled by the pressure ofthe thumb of the left hand on the line coming off spool 3. The cast maybe abruptly terminated, for example, by turning handle 1 so that itslongitudinal axis is generally perpendicular to the direction of thecast. in a like manner, handle 1 may be turned to vary the line tensionwhen playing a fish. When handle 1 is perpendicular to the direction ofthe line, the line can feed out only by rotating spool 3, and therotation of spool 3 is regulated by the drag of spool 3 against disc 2and may be adjusted by nuts 5. Reeling in of the: line may beaccomplished by holding handle 1 perpendicular to the direction of theline and either using the right hand to loop line onto spool 3 or usingelectric motor 31 (FIG. 2) actuated by button 32 to rotate spool 3 whileguiding the line with the right hand. Crank or other arrangements may beutilized alternatively to motor 31 to rotate spool 3. The crank or reelhandle, through gearing, shafts and the like, may be extended throughthe side of the handle or out the end of the handle.

The unit may be made of plastic and quite light, so

that it is excellent for back-packers or like. Also, it is highlyeffective for storing in the glove compartment of an automobile for aquick cast or two into a likely looking stream or lake, When made ofplastic and having a hollow handle, the unit will be floatable.

We claim:

1. Fishing apparatus comprising:

a. an elongated handle member arranged to be grasped by a hand,

b. a generally disc-shaped member fixed on an end of said handle memberand at an angle of about to the axis of said handle, said disc-shapedmember having a radius greater than the radius of the flanges of a spoolof fishing line to be mounted thereon;

c. shaft means for mounting a spool of fishing line on said disc-shapedmember; and

d. said disc-shaped member having a slot formed in the periphery thereofat a position cooperative with said handle member for thumb-controllingline fed from the spool while hand-holding the handle member,

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a flange portion extendingfrom said disc-shaped member towards said handle, said flange definingone side of said slot, providing a line guide and a thumb-restingsurface.

1. Fishing apparatus comprising: a. an elongated handle member arrangedto be grasped by a hand, b. a generally disc-shaped member fixed on anend of said handle member and at an angle of about 70* to the axis ofsaid handle, said disc-shaped member having a radius greater than theradius of the flanges of a spool of fishing line to be mounted thereon;c. shaft means for mounting a spool of fishing line on said disc-shapedmember; and d. said disc-shaped member having a slot formed in theperiphery thereof at a position cooperative with said handle member forthumb-controlling line fed from the spool while hand-holding the handlemember.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a flange portionextending from said disc-shaped member towards said handle, said flangedefining one side of said slot, providing a line guide and athumb-resting surface.